Coaching Staff Head Coach Jim Schmitz ..................................................32-34 Assistant Coach Skylar Meade ...............................................35 Graduate Assistant Coach James Conrad .............................36 Volunteer Assistant Coach Jason Belk ...................................36 OVC Regular-Season Titles: '98, '99, '01, '09 • OVC Tournament Titles: '99, '08 31 Head Coach Jim Schmitz EDUCATION Jim Schmitz Wilmington College ....................................Bachelor of Arts, 1979 Ohio State University ............M.S. in Sports Administration, 1986 Head Coach | 16 Seasons at EIU COACHING AWARDS AND HONORS 2001 ....................................................... OVC Coach of the Year Early in the 2006 season, Jim Schmitz won his OVC Champions (19-1) 1999 ....................................................... OVC Coach of the Year 300th game at Eastern Illinois and in the process NCAA Regionals (Waco, Texas) became the program's all-time wins leader. OVC Tournament Champions Overall Schmitz has registered 593 career OVC Champions wins in 22 years as a head coach at Eastern 1998 ....................................................... OVC Coach of the Year (1995-present), Cincinnati (1987-90) and OVC Champions Wilmington (1984-86). YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING RESULTS (NCAA DIVISION I) Under Schmitz, EIU has won four Ohio YEAR SCHOOL RECORDS CONFERENCE FINISH Valley Conference regular-season titles, 2010 . Eastern Illinois .. 18-35 / 11-12 .................. Ohio Valley / 5th two OVC Tournament titles, posted a pair of 2009 . Eastern Illinois ..31-19* / 13-5^ .................. Ohio Valley / 1st runner-up finishes, and captured two West 2008 . Eastern Illinois .. 27-30 / 13-13 .................. Ohio Valley / 4th 2007 . Eastern Illinois .. 23-28 / 12-14 .................. Ohio Valley / 7th Division championships when the Panthers were a member of the Mid- 2006.. Eastern Illinois .. 31-24 / 17-10 ..................Ohio Valley / 3rd Continent Conference. 2005.. Eastern Illinois .. 17-39 / 14-13 ...............Ohio Valley / T-6th A regular-season OVC championship and the program’s first-ever 2004.. Eastern Illinois ... 26-30 / 17-9 .................. Ohio Valley / 2nd national ranking from Collegiate Baseball highlighted the memorable 2003.. Eastern Illinois ... 26-31 / 8-12 ................... Ohio Valley / 6th 2009 campaign. 2002.. Eastern Illinois ... 25-26 / 12-8 .................. Ohio Valley / 2nd From March 21 to April 10, 2009, EIU posted a 13-game winning 2001.. Eastern Illinois ... 35-20 / 19-1 ...................Ohio Valley / 1st streak. It was the longest of the program’s Division I era and the fifth 2000.. Eastern Illinois .. 22-33 / 10-13 .................. Ohio Valley / 6th longest streak in the country in 2009. After it was snapped in game two 1999.. Eastern Illinois ... 33-23 / 17-7 ...................Ohio Valley / 1st of a doubleheader at UT Martin, the Panthers hit nine home runs and 1998.. Eastern Illinois ... 37-16 / 17-6 ...................Ohio Valley / 1st scored 30 runs in the rubber game of the series the following day. 1997.. Eastern Illinois .. 25-28 / 13-11 .................. Ohio Valley / 4th 1996.. Eastern Illinois ... 25-22 / 15-3 ... Mid-Continent / 1st (West) During the 13-game win streak, Schmitz recorded his 400th win as 1995.. Eastern Illinois ... 28-19 / 15-5 ... Mid-Continent / 1st (West) the leader of the program on April 5. 16 Years ..........429-423* (.504).........193-134^ (.590) OVC The Panthers, who lost back-to-back games only twice in 2009, enjoyed 1990.. Cincinnati .......... 23-29 / 5-10 ....................................Metro one of the finest offensive campaigns in program history, establishing a 1989.. Cincinnati .......... 21-30 / 3-14 ....................................Metro new single-season hits record (644). Eastern’s 92 home runs and the 1988.. Cincinnati .......... 28-21 / 7-10 ....................................Metro .362 team batting average both ranked second in program history, with 1987.. Cincinnati ........... 31-21 / 5-8 .....................................Metro the .362 clip also being the highest of the OVC era. The Panthers led 4 Years 103-101 (.505) the nation in batting average the weeks of April 20 and May 11 and were YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING RESULTS (NCAA DIVISION III) tops in the league in average, home runs and on-base percentage for 1986.. Wilmington (OH) .... 26-19 much of the season. 1985.. Wilmington (OH) .... 22-20 1984.. Wilmington (OH) .... 13-21 Eastern won the four-team Bulls Baseball Classic in Tampa, Fla., the 3 Years ............. 61-60 (.504) weekend of March 13-15, defeating South Florida, Bethune-Cookman and Oklahoma in three consecutive days. The Panthers eventually OVERALL (23 Years) ...593-584* (.504) entered the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 national poll on April 6 and *Records includes five losses by forfeiture after the 2009 season retained their ranking for another week. Ping!Baseball.com also ranked ^Records include one OVC loss by forfeiture after the 2009 season EIU among the Top 30 nationally from April 27 to May 18. Brett Nommensen was leading the nation in on-base and slugging percentage in batting average when he suffered a broken hamate bone in his right wrist April 10, an injury that sidelined him until the OVC Tournament. A number of players stepped up in Nommensen’s absence as EIU completed the journey to the conference title. Jordan Kreke became the third Panther to win OVC Player of the Year honors after recording a .507 average, nine home runs and 40 RBIs in the 18 conference games. He was also named a Louisville Slugger Third Team All-American. Jordan Tokarz, Richie Derbak and Mike Recchia joined Kreke as First Team All-OVC selections. Three Panthers were selected in the first 13 rounds of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the most EIU selections in a single draft since 1988. Tyler Kehrer went 48th overall to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Compensation Round A, the highest Panther picked since 1988. On day two of the draft, Brett Nommensen went in the eighth round to the Tampa Bay Rays and Jordan Kreke was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 13th round. All three players signed with their organizations and began their pro careers in Rookie Leagues. Erik Huber (Carolina League with Lynchburg), Kehrer (Pioneer League with Orem) and Kreke (Appalachian League with Danville) were all part of Minor League championship teams in the summer of 2009. Four wins in four days versus four different teams, a memorable postseason run that allowed EIU to capture the OVC Tournament title and qualify for the NCAA Tournament, highlighted the Panthers’ 2008 campaign. Eastern was sent to the Lincoln, Neb., Regional of the NCAA Tournament where the team scored a combined 17 runs in its two losses. 32 2011 Panther Baseball www.eiupanthers.com Head Coach Jim Schmitz The Panthers led the OVC in team ERA nearly the entire season. The pitching performed well in Paducah, but it was the monster weeks for Nommensen and Tokarz at the top of the order that allowed EIU to hold the lead for 28 of the 36 tournament innings. Both players hit safely in all six postseason games. Tokarz, one of 17 new players on the roster when the season began, was named the OVC Tournament MVP and collected multiple hits in each of EIU’s six postseason games. Besides team ERA, Eastern’s pitching staff also led the OVC in batting average against. The Panthers enjoyed a 157-115 advantage in extra-base hits. In 2007, Schmitz graduated a 12-player senior class that rewrote the EIU record book. Huber batted better than .400 for the second year in a row and was the first OVC player selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft when the Pittsburgh Pirates picked him in the 12th round. Ryan Campbell established new career marks for hits and doubles. Pitcher Chris Vaculik, along with breaking the program saves record, finished his career as just the third player in program history with 20 wins and 200 strikeouts. Schmitz also won his 500th game as a collegiate head coach on March 24, 2007. Though he downplayed the milestone victory, his players and family were still very excited for him and honored to be part of the historic win. Even though he is a three-time OVC Coach of the Year recipient, his best coaching job may have been in the spring of 2006. Eastern finished third in the OVC despite the team's uncharacteristically low power numbers and a pitching staff that was far from overpowering. Instead it was what Schmitz calls the "base-hit approach" – as well as the conference's top defense and bullpen – that propelled EIU into the league's first division. The Panthers led the OVC in fielding percentage (.968), double plays turned (61) and saves (15), while also finishing second in batting average (.304). Eastern hitters struck out the fewest number of times in the conference as well. Schmitz's EIU teams are no strangers to success. Despite being the northern-most school in the OVC, the Panthers have finished below .500 just three times since joining the league in 1997. The 1999 team won the OVC Tournament title and, for the first time in program history, qualified for an NCAA Division I Regional, placing third at the Waco, Texas, Regional. The Panthers played nationally-ranked Baylor and Minnesota close and knocked No. 21 Arizona out of the tournament. Also, for the first time ever, Eastern posted consecutive 30-win seasons in 1998 and 1999. The Panthers know how to score runs and play defense. In 2003, EIU finished 13th nationally in home runs per game (1.32) with an OVC-leading 75 overall. The 1.05 double plays per game ranked 18th in 2004. Eight of the most prolific home run hitting teams in program history have been coached by Schmitz. The 1998 squad, which slugged a program-record 120, still holds the NCAA all-time record for hitting five consecutive home runs. On two occasions since, Eastern has hit four in a row. The Panthers tied another national record in 2002, hitting two grand slams in the same inning.